Yesterday saw the release of a new bottling from the Mars Distillery. This one is a blend of American White Oak and Sherry Cask matured whisky and aged for a minimum of 22 years. According to the press release a total of 4 casks were used. I tasted this one at TIBS/Whiskylive Tokyo last month and initial impressions were favorable. Full tasting notes will follow at a later date as I have placed my order. Only 1359 bottles available at a price of Y9500. A fair price I believe, especially for a 750ml bottle. For international shipping orders Auc-claude whiskies still has a few in stock at the time of writing. If you are in Tokyo try Liquors Hasegawa.
I don’t think they are going to have a problem selling these but I still encourage all Japanese whisky enthusiasts to get behind small distilleries like Mars. Look out for another release from Mars on the 5th of June. I’ll post on this one when it hits the shelves but I can tell you it was a big hit at TIBS/Whiskylive Tokyo amongst the people I talked to and is amazing value for the quality.
My bottle arrived yesterday & I tried it tonight.
You can see a family resemblance between this & 3+25.
Complex & harmonious & with a long, lingering finish.
Another beauty from Mars.
I’ve been writing up notes over the last couple of days on this one and the very rare 24YO Bourbon Cask that a few of us managed to try at TIBS/WL this year. Will be posting in the next couple of days.
Hi Harold,
My brother lives in Yokohama & I’ve had a number of bottles delivered to him.
I believe he signs for them, but the couriers will arrange a suitable time if nobody is home on the first try.
If you have a Rakuten account, change the delivery country to Japan & you’ll see a LOT more whiskies available for sale.
The only issue is that some of the sellers won’t accept “foreign” credit cards.
I had one occasion when the seller actually charged my card, before reversing it!
Weird!
Trial & error is the only way to go, but I’ve had a reasonable success rate getting bottles delivered to Yokohama (including some interesting Suntory Owner’s Casks)
that you would never be able to get otherwise.
Good luck!
Thank you. I’ll check it out, and have my fingers crossed. š
Thanks Alan.
Is shipping to a Japanese address pretty easy? I guess this is a general question (not specific to this Mars release). I have a relative living in Nagoya. Would like to ship it there and I can pick it up when I visit, but I also want to make it hassle free for the person receiving the bottles. Do they have to sign for it? Or does the package get dropped off at the door? Or pickup at the postal office? Thanks!
Hi Harold. Of course it’s easy done but I’m not sure what the actual process from the receiver’s end is. I will check for you.
Thanks! I’ll check with my relative over there. Don’t want to make it difficult for her, that’s all.
I do this fairly often. Receiver usually has to sign (stamp with hanko). Shipping companies make it pretty convenient as far as someone being home. They come in the evening a lot or they will call a head of time to let you know when they are coming.
Thanks for the tip Brian!
I’ve ordered one from Claude Whiskies – as you said no bottle count.
I received an order confirmation, so we’ll see what happens.
You don’t find many good 22yo whiskies for $100!
Certainly not in these parts Alan. Enjoy!
This has made its way to Kansai – as far as I know only one major distributor has it in Osaka, and not too many at that. These, however, I’ve been told have mostly been allocated to customers already at a renowned store. As of writing LH has 9 bottles remaining. Some great stock waiting to be released indeed,
Thanks for the update Clint. LH is now down to 8. Can’t get a read on Auc-claude at the moment. This morning showed 9 bottles then later 6 but no bottle count currently(normally shows when there is even only one left).
Not bad it’s still at seven bottles left at LH as of writing (6:22pm-JST). Good indication that there is a small chance one or two left tomorrow morning for last minute enthusiasts who have pondered about it, which frankly nothing needs to be thought about. Word is we (kansai residents) can expect to see something new possibly at the next few events/festivals here. I’m still waiting to get my hands on the IWAI wine cask finish also……
I think most people at TIBS/Wl are looking forward to the Iwai Tradition Wine Cask Finish CLint.
Interesting post, Brian. I doubt that any of these bottles will make their way to Europe, which is why it’s good to be kept in the loop about developments in Japan. In my opinion Mars is not well known over here and therefore generally underrated. Keep it coming!
I agree Pierre that they are unlikely to make it onto any retail shelves in Europe. I do believe that the recent award given to the Mars 3plus25 has raised their profile at least a little outside of Japan though. I certainly hope to keep the Mars Distillery name alive on these pages. There was a lot of people at their stand at TIBS/Wl.
Talked to a couple of the staff and they have some very interesting matured casks in their warehouse that may surprise even hardcore Japanese whisky fans.